Study: Mobile-equipped consumers want to be ‘untethered’

Consumers who book flights on mobile devices tend to be younger and pay less on average than those who use desktop or laptop computers to reserve flights, according to a new priceline.com Inc. study.

In the words of priceline.com travel analyst Brian Ek, “Mobile-equipped consumers are what we call ‘untethered’ travelers.”

Almost half of all consumers who reserved flights with priceline.com using a mobile device booked one-way tickets, and mobile users paid less for their tickets – $283 on average – than desktop users, who paid an average of $315.

Additionally, the average age of consumers booking flights with mobile devices was 32, versus an average age of 38 for the average desktop-wielding travel consumer.

Mobile consumers “like to create their travel experiences on the fly, rather than stick to itineraries planned far in advance,” Ek said in a prepared statement. “Hotels are typically chosen closer to check-in day (even on the same day), and many bookings are made while on the road or after arrival in town. … And the choice of one-way tickets allows mobile travelers to adjust their length of stay and even return from a different city.”

The priceline.com data were based on a sampling of mobile bookings made earlier this year after the company’s mobile application added the ability for consumers to book round-trip and one-way domestic and international flights. Priceline.com is headquartered in Norwalk.